The present invention generally relates to a diaper for adults.
In recent years, diapers for adults have been in brisk demand. When such diapers for adults are to be put on a wearer who is confined to bed, it has often been the case to use a diaper of pants-type adapted to be opened along transversely opposite lateral margins and to be reclosable along these lateral edges, for example, as disclosed in National Publication of Japanese Translated Version No. 2002-532147 (hereinafter referred to as “Reference”).
The diaper disclosed in Reference includes a side panel extending transversely outward from an absorbent assembly in one of waist regions and a mechanical fastening component provided on the other waist region. The side panel is detachably and refastenably engaged with the associated mechanical fastening components from the inside so as to maintain the diaper in the pants-type.
In the case of the diaper disclosed in Reference, the opposite waist regions are refastenably connected together by means of the mechanical fastening component so as to maintain the diaper in the pants-type. However, the diaper disclosed in Reference relates to training pants for baby and necessarily has a size smaller than the diaper for adults. Accordingly, the technique disclosed in Reference can not be directly applied to the diaper for adults without causing various problems.
One of these problems lies in difficulty encountered by the user when the user tries to connect a waist region to the other waist region. While FIG. 2 of Reference illustrates vertically long fastening components, such vertically long fastening components will be too long to be properly engaged one with another over full length thereof in a single procedure. This may result in that the fastening components are not precisely put flat together and, for example, in the case of the mechanical fastener, a surface having a plurality of hooks may be exposed. The hooks exposed in this manner may irritate the wearer's skin, causing the wearer to experience a feeling of discomfort and/or may be caught by the wearer's garment, causing the mechanical fastener to be peeled off from the diaper. Particularly in the case of a surface fastener, the hook carrying sheet usually has a relatively high stiffness and skin irritation due thereto is correspondingly significant. Furthermore, if the hook carrying sheet and the loop carrying sheet are not precisely put flat together, it must be tried again to connect the waist regions to each other after the hook carrying sheet has been peeled off from the loop carrying sheet.